LSU fires OC Joe Sloan, elevates Alex Atkins to interim role

Field Level Media|published: 10/27/2025, 11:07am EDT

Tigers Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier 18 is sacked as LSU Tigers take on the Texas A&M Aggies. October 25, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.

Run game coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Atkins has a new title at LSU: interim offensive coordinator.

Atkins, who spent the previous three seasons as offensive coordinator at Florida State, was elevated on Monday when the Tigers continued cleaning house after firing head coach Brian Kelly. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was let go 24 hours after official word of Kelly's ouster broke on Sunday.

Sloan spent four years on the LSU coaching staff and was in his second season calling plays for the Tigers. He's heavily credited for helping spark Jayden Daniels' meteoric rise and the 2024 production from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (4,052 yards, 29 touchdowns)

The Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) have lost three of their last four games and are last in the conference in rushing and 96th in the FBS in total offense (355.5 yards per game), one spot ahead of Penn State.

During a 10-win 2022 season with Atkins as the play-caller, Florida State averaged 36.1 points per game.

He was fired in November 2024 after the Seminoles' 1-9 start and hired by Kelly in the offseason. Prior to his time in Tallahassee, Atkins was offensive line coach at Tulane for three seasons (2016-18) and offensive coordinator at Charlotte (2019).

--Field Level Media